This sensitivity to small gestures and symbolism continues today. Sometimes, it borders on the absurd. Tang Jiaxuan, foreign minister from 1998 to 2003, wrote up a revealing incident in his memoirs. After finishing a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart in 1998, both men visited the men’s room. The Indonesian foreign minister turned on the faucet for him and passed him a towel. “This kind of action is extremely rare in diplomatic circles,” Tang wrote more than a decade after the fact. “It not only reflected his respect and friendship for China, but also his wish to establish a personal friendship from deep within his heart.”